Download websites TV Links and OiNK have been closed in two separate raids within a week.

On Thursday police in Cheltenham arrested a 26-year-old man who ran TV Links, which linked to video content on other sites, and shut down its Dutch servers.

Then yesterday a 24-year-old IT worker who ran members-only torrent tracker website OiNK was arrested in Middlesbrough. Its servers - also in the Netherlands - were seized.

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Both were firsts of their kind in the UK and appear to signal a step-up in action against illegal film and music content on the internet.

The raid on high-profile website TV Links was led by Gloucestershire police, trading standards and industry body the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).

Their statement following the raid said the man was arrested "in connection with offences relating to the facilitation of copyright infringement". He has been released pending further enquiries.

Kieron Sharp, FACT director general, commented: "We at FACT have stated very clearly that we intended to pursue those who are openly exploiting and facilitating the distribution of illegal film and TV content and this was the first major target."

Roger Marles, head of trading standards, said: "This practice allows people to view any one of a large number of films and television programmes directly via the website.

"This is illegal under UK copyright law... No physical product changes hands but the effect is the same - anyone has the opportunity to view an illegal copy of a copyrighted work."

OiNK, raided yesterday, was less high profile - it was thought to have around 180,000 users. Police suggested some made donations to the "exclusive" service.

The action was this time led by Cleveland Police and music industry bodies the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and British Phonographic Institute (BPI).

The man, whose employer is an unnamed large multinational, has also been released pending further enquiries.

The BPI and IFPI stressed it was key that the site was a developed network and that it linked to many albums before they were officially released.

Jeremy Banks, head of the IFPI’s internet anti-piracy unit, said: “OiNK was central to the illegal distribution of pre-release music online.

"This was not a case of friends sharing music for pleasure. This was a worldwide network that got hold of music they did not own the rights to and posted it online."

Cleveland police claimed to have uncovered "a massive piracy scam, the first such international operation in the country". They said the man was suspected of conspiracy to defraud and infringement of copyright law.

A statement added: "Members paid donations via debit or credit cards, ensuring their continued access to the site. The payments were received electronically into the web site company accounts."